As I was saying...
 It has been a very "interesting" week. I have heard report after report of sad and frustrating experiences that are happening to folks I love.
Everywhere I look, it seems there are "Life-Quakes and Heart-Breaks." Disappointments and broken dreams seem to be the order of the day. At these times it is only natural that we wonder "Why?!"
Well, first of all...we may never fully understand "why," as that question is more complex than we can comprehend. You see, it is not just about us, even if it feels like it is. There is a greater consciousness, "the collective," which we are a part of. We impact it and are impacted by it. Does this mean we are crippled, or doomed by the "collective," and must abandon all hope for a better tomorrow? Absolutely not! The Law of Mind Action, simply put, states the thoughts we consistently hold manifest in our lives. Therefore if we consistently hold negative thoughts and feelings that will be the ultimate tone of our entire life. The same of course is true for greedy thoughts, victim thoughts, resentful thoughts, etc. If a person has a "poor consciousness," they will always experience a life of poverty, even if their bank book is overflowing. While some may see positive thinking as "Pollyanna-ish," it is in fact powerful. Our aggregate thoughts manifest AS our lives. A term from quantum physics, Critical Mass, indicates that when enough particles of a particular vibration are collected (critical mass) manifestation occurs. One of the reasons that we cannot consistently manifest desired outcomes in our lives is that when "bad" things happen, the positive thoughts we have been holding are scattered. They cannot start to be collected and build up again until we take our focus off of the "bad" thing that happened and turn our mind to where we want to go. Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation, but I have overcome the world." And so can we. One of the steps in overcoming is to stop giving our energy and emotions, our thoughts and feelings, to the negative experience. Unexpected, unfavorable circumstances are a fact of life as we know it. Is it an ultimate Truth? No, it is a reality of our current state of being, or consciousness. For example, a newborn baby cannot walk, but it will learn to as it grows. Likewise, as we grow and learn and change the way we process thoughts, feelings and experiences, our life and the world we live in (the collective) will likewise be changed. This is Law, Spiritual Law. To change our lives, we must change our thoughts. If we try to escape the pain of negative experiences, we are leaving a scattered mess behind us and have to start back at "square one" developing positive thoughts and feelings. How much easier would it be to try to hold on to the positive thoughts we already have? In 1939, at the beginning of WWII, the Government of the UK printed posters with the phrase, "Keep Calm and Carry On," to boost the morale of the people in the event of an invasion. How powerful that phrase is! I was so moved when I first heard it, I put it on a post-it to inspire me when "interesting" weeks like the current one occur.
By keeping calm we can retain our positive thoughts, feelings and beliefs, and like Jesus we can overcome the trials and tribulations of this world...and live in a better world yet! What else can I say...but keep calm and carry on! RevAli PS: Do feel free to save this picture and print it out, as the copyright expired and it is public domain. I recommend putting it where you can see it and be inspired by it when "stuff happens" in your life. | 
